Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: I am a 61-year-old, classically-trained pianist, mother of five grown children, currently living in the woods in the Pacific Northwest, though I hail from Minnesota. I grew up in a rural area and spent significant time in the forests, by the creeks and rivers and lakes, or running through meadows. The elements of our natural world definitely find their way into my music. I also happened to have had a painful childhood; music was a saving grace–it was inviolable and couldn’t be taken away from me. Later, during my conservatory years, however, I suffered a tremendous injury by way of a violent assault. It wook a long time to heal–both physically and emotionally. My injuries actually resulted in my not playing the piano for close to 20 years. I returned to music rather accidentally about 16 years ago, and at that time could not have foreseen that I would not only return to music but that I would actually be a performing artist. These challenging experiences in my life most certainly inform my music–to the extent that I had to dig deep to not only survive the pain of the past but transcend and transform it into something beautiful. I am tremendously grateful that I now live my life for/with/in Music.
Q: Can you describe the musical style of Sheila Weidendorf in three words?
A: Whimsical ~ Epressive ~ Fluid
Q: How do you stay connected with your fans, and what role do they play in shaping your musical journey?
A: I perform regularly, and share my music on social media (though I am still learning to best to do this effectively–promotion does not come naturally to me) as well as through a monthly e-letter/blog. Music is like love–it is not a thing to be given but a state of being to be shared. I try to do my little part in this world, share what gifts I may have. Every performance–whether live or recorded–is a meditation, a prayer intended to speak to the universal heart. It is a blessing to me if ever anyone is uplifted by my music, or moved or stirred.
Q: You have just released your new album, ‘We Are Luminous’. Is there a story behind it?
A: My album is completely improvisational, created extemporaneously–though some pieces expand upon themes I’ve explored previously in my “wandering” time at the keyboard. My early classical training including the rudiements of improvisations–using the musical vocabulary of our western music canon to spontaneously create something. But it was during the months of COVID lockdown when I started really exploring and expanding my own improvisational lexicon. There I was at home, thinking I’d using the lockdown months to learn new languages, take up other interests. But there was my piano! I basically spent the entirety of that time at the keyboard, creating little improvisational videos I share on my personal YouTube–really just an archive of my musical meanderings. At some point, though, I started incorporating improvisations into public performances and had a feeling I would have to record at some point. We Are Lumimous is both the culmination of a deeply introspective time–both personally and musically, as well as the launch of a new musical chapter in my life.
Q: What is your favorite track from the album and why?
A: Hmmm…that’s a hard question to answer. I think maybe Surrender (Sharanagathi). It is inspired by Hindustani Classical Music. While not based upon any particular raag, it is definitely inspired by that musical tradition. I spend a lot of time in India (I actually have a home there and will eventually shift my home base to Rajasthan) and am in love with the artistic traditions I have encountered there. Too, I cannot separate my own spiritual path from my musical path and surrender–letting go of preconceived notions and fixed ideas, allowing oneself to experience the whole of which we are a part–is really the foundation and the heart of my own life and therefore my music.
Q: Can you walk us through the creative process of producing the album, “We Are Luminous”?
A: As I mentioned before, I have a personal YouTube of just short, extemporaneous explorations of musical themes, or moods, or passing inspirations. One of those, for example, called “Memories, Like Dreams in the Wind” was recorded during a windstorm on the island where I currently live. The winds were howling, and the power had gone out and it was night time so I was lighting my home with candles and oil lamps. Outside my music room window there hangs a large, lovely wind chime. It was ringing madly in the winds. So I sat down, opened the window a little, and created a trio: piano, wind, and wind chime. Fast forward to the album: When I improvise it is truly an “on the spot” creation. I might be witnessing an emotion rising within. I may have read or heard a turn of phrase that impels me to respond musically. Inspiration can come from anywhere. A couple of the pieces on We Are Luminous do include lietmotifs I have previously explored in those personal YouTube videos. But on the day of recording–I sat down and just recorded each track in succession. I started blindly; I was having a feeling about the whole thing–doing a solo album as I was about to turn 61! Once I recorded the first piece (Invocation), I just knew what needed to be said next. Let My Heart Be the Light–the 2nd track–is one of those that I have leaned into before, specifically with the Johannes Brahms-inspired Bum-Bum…. Bum-bum… repeating bass. It’s a heart beat that almost continuously resounds, coupled with a simple, slowly-ascending scale pattern insterspersed with all kinds of wandering. But really–the whole experience of recording We Are Luminous was like an energetic storm front ( in a positive way!) that just moved in and through my field of experience. I just played and played with my eyes closed until I felt I had somehow come full circle with the closing track.
Q: What has been the most memorable concert or performance for Sheila Weidendorf so far?
A: I perform regularly with both my classical ensemble, Trio Rasa (sometimes adding musicians and becoming RASA 4 or RASA 5!) and with my completely improvisational trio–Trio Improviso as well as with other collaborations. I can’t name one performance as being the most memorable. What I love about performing in general is the collaborative process. It doesn’t matter if it’s Trio RASA playing repertoire or Trio Improviso just riffing, making it up as we go. In any instance the musicians playing together have to do so from a place of deep respect and trust. When that bond is there, the joy is palpable within and between each musician and in the audience. It’s like some window in the Cosmos opens up and Music itself just streams down to and through us. It is truly the most amazing and wonderful phenomenon! But even when I’m performing solo, it’s the same. If I can get out of my head, move beyond my own worries or my own ego, be fully present to the possibilites inherent in whatever music I’m about to play–something magical happens. I am transported to a different plane of existence and the performance then becomes about the Music itself–it’s never about me, the person, playing the music. I just love that.
Q: Reflecting on your body of work, each song holding its unique significance, could you share a particular track that stands out to you personally? What makes that specific tune special, and why does it hold a place of pride in your musical journey?
A: Ooh—A truly impossible question to answer! I must admit it feels good to have mustered the courage to do this first solo album at my age, especially considering I didn’t make music for so long when I was younger. (I am on a couple of other recordings, most notably an album called Hovhaness, with the Alder String Quartet–a project dear to my heart as it was a project with my mentor, the late, great Buell Neidlinger!) Ultimately, I feel We Are Luminous is the truest representation of me as a person and as a musician–at least, it’s the best of me, the best of what/who I aspire to be. And that is somewhat nebulous, I realize. Just like the album was recorded extemporaneously, communicating a transient set of feelings/inner states how can I say it represents “me?” We are fluid, motions of energy and I am still researching on the inner plane just who/what I am and what is my purpose. But at the very least, We Are Luminous is a reasonable representation of the offering I am able to make at this stage of my evolution. I’m sorry I cannot be more concrete! LOL
Q: Exploring the diverse creative processes within the music industry is always fascinating. Could you provide insight into Sheila Weidendorf’s unique approach to crafting music? From the initial spark of an idea to the finished song, how do you navigate the creative journey and bring its musical concepts to life?
A: I think the most important tool in a musician’s toolbox is listening. Deep listening. If I am playing Brahms with my classical trio, we first just play through the repertoire, unwrapping it like a Christmas gift–What’s in this box? Then as we hone we are deeply listening to each other, and to every musical phrase, trying to decipher or decode the treasure map. In my improvisational life it’s not different. I get an idea. Maybe it’s a key signature. I sit down and am feeling g-minory. I just close my eyes and see what happens. I listen to what the music is trying to tell me. If i find something juicy, something that stirs me I go deeper into that statement. Maybe it’s a melodic fragment, or a rhythmic pattern. My specialty–if I have one–is playing with tone color and texture. The piano is really a conveniently-packaged orchestra. How you touch the keys of a piano determines how the action responds, how the piano touches you back. Do I want shimmer? Fog? Do I want to imitate a bassoon? Maybe I just want to be light refracted…I just reach in and see what happens and, if I enjoy it, I push it as far as i can in my exploration. My process is always, in a way, a kind of meditation.
Q: As we wrap up our conversation, looking ahead, what aspirations or dreams do you have for Sheila Weidendorf, and what message would you like to share with your fans as they continue to accompany you on this musical journey?
A: Music and life, both, are a beautiful adventure. I am a wanderer, and adventurer at heart here to say it’s never to late to follow the path of your heart. I hope to make music until I take my last breath, keep on expanding my musical horizons, ever learning something new and challenging myself to continually explore new modes of expression. Thank you for asking.
